Uploaded September 2019 | Updated September 2026, 54 minutes ago
Let’s talk about the book raid that’s been going on at Rio de Janeiro’s biennial book fair (bienal do livro), tracing a timeline of art censorship from Plato, Hitler, Mao Tse Tung and Wertham to 2019’s Brazil. I’ll be posting a little timeline of events and will update every time more news come out. Please let me know if you have any articles, news or other information regarding this topic.
Quick warning: I curse a lot in this video, perhaps you wouldn’t wanna listen to it when there are kids around or on a workplace. Thank you for watching!
RIO DE JANEIRO’S BOOK FAIR CENSORSHIP
On September 6th, Rio’s mayor, Crivella – an evangelical book writer – ordered that every copy of Marvel’s comic book “Avengers: Children’s cruzade” should be removed from Rio’s biennial book fair (the biggest literary fair of Brazil). The comic features a kiss between two young men, but no erotic content at all. Later, Crivella ordered his inspectors to confiscate every single book for young audiences that contained LGBT+ content. They claimed this order was to protect the kids from “sexual themes” on books. No books featuring heterosexual kisses were confiscated. At the end of the day, Rio’s court of justice published an order that prohibited the mayor from confiscating books.
On September 7th, Brazil’s independence day (ironically), Rio’s court of justice’s president, Claudio Mello Tavares, authorized the censorship again. Tavares is a known homophobic who claimed that “homosexuality is a conduct deviation who should be repressed and medically treated instead of being supported by society” in 2009. Mayor Crivella sent more inspectors, who were armed with fire weapons to a book fair with lots of children in order to confiscate LGBT+ books. Readers and publishers claimed that they were throwing the books on a black trash plastic bag.
Before the inspectors could take “Avengers: Children’s cruzade” comics away, they were already sold out. Lots of publishers, authors, readers and celebrities posted regarding this whole situation, and Felipe Neto, a brazilian youtuber, bought and distributed 10 thousand LGBT+ books for free at the fair, whom the mayor also ordered to be confiscated, but they were distributed before the inspectors arrived. At night, readers made a protest yelling “no censorship” inside Rio’s book fair and this has gotten the attention of international media.
On September 8th, Brazil’s supreme federal court president, Dias Toffoli, bans the justice threshold who allowed the book censorship, a huge victory to freedom and human rights. Toffoli says the order who authorized the censorship “breaks the juridical order and, at the same time, public order”.
News about Rio’s book fair censorship in english:
nytimes.com/2019/09/07/world/americas/rio-gay-kiss-comic.html
https://www1.folha.uol.com.br/internacional/en/culture/2019/09/rio-mayor-orders-censorship-of-comic-book-at-rio-de-janeiro-book-biennial.shtml
independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/rio-de-janeiro-brazil-comic-removed-book-festival-gay-kiss-censorship-mayor-marcelo-crivella-a9095591.html
Notícias sobre a censura na bienal do Rio em português:
https://www.b9.com.br/113727/editoras-repudiam-ato-de-censura-promovido-por-marcelo-crivella-na-bienal-do-livro-do-rio/
https://www1.folha.uol.com.br/ilustrada/2019/09/decisao-que-permitiu-recolher-livros-na-bienal-e-censura-dizem-especialistas.shtml
brasil.elpais.com/brasil/2019/09/07/politica/1567885180_132047.html
https://www.omelete.com.br/quadrinhos/bienal-do-rio-fiscalizacao-hq-vingadores
https://www.omelete.com.br/quadrinhos/bienal-protesto-censura
https://entretenimento.uol.com.br/noticias/redacao/2019/09/07/nao-vai-ter-censura-manifestantes-fazem-ato-contra-crivella-na-bienal-do-rio.htm
https://www.omelete.com.br/quadrinhos/vingadores-bienal-ilustrador-posicionamento
https://www1.folha.uol.com.br/ilustrada/2019/09/stf-derruba-decisao-que-autorizava-censura-a-hq-com-beijo-gay-na-bienal-do-livro.shtml
Dr Carol L Tilley
caroltilley.net
Noel Carroll
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/No%C3%ABl_Carroll
Plato and censorship
britannica.com/biography/Plato
stephenhicks.org/2012/01/21/plato-on-censoring-artists-a-summary
I’m a concept artist, illustrator, comic book author and artist and I research horror comics on my master’s degree dissertation. Please follow my work on the links below, and feel free to like the video, subscribe and share :)
rebelhound.weebly.com
twitter.com/alicemonstrinho
instagram.com/alicemonstrinho
facebook.com/alicemonstrinhoart
Thank you and have a nice day!
Let’s talk about the book raid that’s been going on at Rio de Janeiro’s biennial book fair (bienal do livro), tracing a timeline of art censorship from Plato, Hitler, Mao Tse Tung and Wertham to 2019’s Brazil. I’ll be posting a little timeline of events and will update every time more news come out. Please let me know if you have any articles, news or other information regarding this topic.
Quick warning: I curse a lot in this video, perhaps you wouldn’t wanna listen to it when there are kids around or on a workplace. Thank you for watching!
RIO DE JANEIRO’S BOOK FAIR CENSORSHIP
On September 6th, Rio’s mayor, Crivella – an evangelical book writer – ordered that every copy of Marvel’s comic book “Avengers: Children’s cruzade” should be removed from Rio’s biennial book fair (the biggest literary fair of Brazil). The comic features a kiss between two young men, but no erotic content at all. Later, Crivella ordered his inspectors to confiscate every single book for young audiences that contained LGBT+ content. They claimed this order was to protect the kids from “sexual themes” on books. No books featuring heterosexual kisses were confiscated. At the end of the day, Rio’s court of justice published an order that prohibited the mayor from confiscating books.
On September 7th, Brazil’s independence day (ironically), Rio’s court of justice’s president, Claudio Mello Tavares, authorized the censorship again. Tavares is a known homophobic who claimed that “homosexuality is a conduct deviation who should be repressed and medically treated instead of being supported by society” in 2009. Mayor Crivella sent more inspectors, who were armed with fire weapons to a book fair with lots of children in order to confiscate LGBT+ books. Readers and publishers claimed that they were throwing the books on a black trash plastic bag.
Before the inspectors could take “Avengers: Children’s cruzade” comics away, they were already sold out. Lots of publishers, authors, readers and celebrities posted regarding this whole situation, and Felipe Neto, a brazilian youtuber, bought and distributed 10 thousand LGBT+ books for free at the fair, whom the mayor also ordered to be confiscated, but they were distributed before the inspectors arrived. At night, readers made a protest yelling “no censorship” inside Rio’s book fair and this has gotten the attention of international media.
On September 8th, Brazil’s supreme federal court president, Dias Toffoli, bans the justice threshold who allowed the book censorship, a huge victory to freedom and human rights. Toffoli says the order who authorized the censorship “breaks the juridical order and, at the same time, public order”.
News about Rio’s book fair censorship in english:
nytimes.com/2019/09/07/world/americas/rio-gay-kiss-comic.html
https://www1.folha.uol.com.br/internacional/en/culture/2019/09/rio-mayor-orders-censorship-of-comic-book-at-rio-de-janeiro-book-biennial.shtml
independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/rio-de-janeiro-brazil-comic-removed-book-festival-gay-kiss-censorship-mayor-marcelo-crivella-a9095591.html
Notícias sobre a censura na bienal do Rio em português:
https://www.b9.com.br/113727/editoras-repudiam-ato-de-censura-promovido-por-marcelo-crivella-na-bienal-do-livro-do-rio/
https://www1.folha.uol.com.br/ilustrada/2019/09/decisao-que-permitiu-recolher-livros-na-bienal-e-censura-dizem-especialistas.shtml
brasil.elpais.com/brasil/2019/09/07/politica/1567885180_132047.html
https://www.omelete.com.br/quadrinhos/bienal-do-rio-fiscalizacao-hq-vingadores
https://www.omelete.com.br/quadrinhos/bienal-protesto-censura
https://entretenimento.uol.com.br/noticias/redacao/2019/09/07/nao-vai-ter-censura-manifestantes-fazem-ato-contra-crivella-na-bienal-do-rio.htm
https://www.omelete.com.br/quadrinhos/vingadores-bienal-ilustrador-posicionamento
https://www1.folha.uol.com.br/ilustrada/2019/09/stf-derruba-decisao-que-autorizava-censura-a-hq-com-beijo-gay-na-bienal-do-livro.shtml
Dr Carol L Tilley
caroltilley.net
Noel Carroll
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/No%C3%ABl_Carroll
Plato and censorship
britannica.com/biography/Plato
stephenhicks.org/2012/01/21/plato-on-censoring-artists-a-summary
I’m a concept artist, illustrator, comic book author and artist and I research horror comics on my master’s degree dissertation. Please follow my work on the links below, and feel free to like the video, subscribe and share :)
rebelhound.weebly.com
twitter.com/alicemonstrinho
instagram.com/alicemonstrinho
facebook.com/alicemonstrinhoart
Thank you and have a nice day!
